Monday, June 15, 2009

I touched on this briefly in my story covering the opening of the Uptown Amphitheatre on Saturday night, but I need to vent my personal disgust a little bit more.

The price-gouging going on at various concerts and sporting events is out of control.

I was hoping that prices at the new venue would be lower than those at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, since it's smaller (5,000 vs. Verizon's 18,000) and the bands aren't as high-profile.

Nope: Beers ranged from $8-$11 on Saturday night. Sodas and waters were just as ridiculously priced -- $5 for a bottle of Coke or a 24-ounce fountain drink and $4 for a bottle of Dasani water. (My $5 fountain drink was filled three-quarters of the way with big chunks of ice. I got maybe 10 sips of actual soda from it.)

The fact that these guys have tip buckets at their $9 beer stands is almost comical. Almost.

And it's not just Live Nation venues either (although their prices appear to be the highest). Beers at Bobcats games or Time Warner Cable Arena concerts will cost you around $8.75; Bank of America Stadium charges between $6.50 and $8.

How can these places charge such outrageous prices with a straight face, especially in this economy?

It's not like they're taking a loss on ticket sales -- especially when they're adding on up to $17 in service fees (Read Observer reporter Andrew Dunn's story about service fees here) -- and then making it up at the concessions stands. They're making money on both sides.

It takes the fun out of going to such events, knowing how much more it's going to cost you on top of what you've already paid just to get in the door. My wallet feels for the chivalrous guys out there who took dates to Saturday's concert and picked up the tab. (For an interesting look at dating during the recession, click here.)

Some say the solution is simple: "Get hammered before you go." I say you shouldn't have to do that, especially if you plan on driving.

Others say "Who cares? It's the same everywhere else. Accept it."

You should be able to go to a concert, enjoy a nice summer night with a cold beer under the stars -- for a reasonable price. Heck, I'd be happy with a $5 beer at this rate.

21
comments:

Anonymous
said...

AMEN to that!

I asked one of the beer stand guys at the Fray concert this past Sat. night if I got a kiss first... he gave me a look that obviously showed that he didn't understand where I was going with this comment... to which I replied: "because you just f*%ked me! $11 for a Budweiser?!?" He just laughed... I just cried...

It's ridiculous! Other than the price of beer being higher than the going rate of platinum right now... the new Uptown Amph. is pretty nice.

My guy was at NIN/JA at Verizon on Friday night- bought a $5 Coke, and had hardly drank any of it when someone knocked it over. At least it wasn't an $11 beer! He probably would have punched the guy who spilled it...LOL.

It has gotten out of hand and has been that way for a while. The prices keep creeping up too. You really can't beat it, though I can say the venues would sell more if it was cheaper and the demand would follow (review economics 101 venue owners). Instead, I put all of my money into the local vendor down the street before hand and after. They are lucky to get more than 1 drink out of me now - their loss.

1) Never, ever pay more for one beer than you would pay for a six-pack. This is a good rule of thumb.

2) Rather than enriching the carpetbagging a**holes running these places, while listening to the yuppie band-du-jour why not support the pioneering local venues that have been scraping by providing high-quality music at incredibly reasonable prices (and low-cost alcohol, to boot) for years?

Instead of douching it up at these places, how about check out the Neighborhood Theatre, the Visulite, and Amos'? All three bring in a great mix or local, regional, and national acts. And they'll sell you a beer for $2-4 a pop instead of $11!

Here's the problem - people pay it. If no one paid that much, they'd be forced to lower prices... So, the problem isn't that the prices are that high - it's that they're laughing that so many people will pay that much for a beer.

With prices like these, such venues deserve to go out of business, and quickly. I ordered an imported beer at Friday night's NINJA concert at Verizon, and I refused it when asked to pay $12. If success is dependent on rampant greed, I'm afraid that Charlotte's corporate-sponsored concert scene is doomed to failure. Boycott Live Nation, and let them know why!

Those that I know (friends, family, etc.) deliberately buy NOTHING at these places (ball games, concerts, movies, etc.) unless its absolutely necessary. Even more so in this economy. I have no doubt most others are the same way.

The rationale of the concession companies must be "the more we charge, the more we'll make." But in the end, they're no better off because they've lost so many would-be customers to these ridiculous prices.

When my wife, my kids or my girlfriend insist on chasing $9 nachos with a $5 coke, I play the "ice cream card" and promise to stop for ice cream on the way home. It usually works.

These venue owners or concession companies should take the "Walmart" approach. Price it low and watch em' roll in. I bet they'd be pleasantly surprised how much more revenue they'd generate.

If you know what the prices are before you go it's easier to plan ahead and not buy anything, but if you're taken by surprise, you'll more likely be taken. For many it's a hard choice: feel cheap/poor or like a fool. F*** 'em.

Go to Neighborhood Theatre or the Visulite. The bands are better, the prices are great, and you don't have to listen to a bunch of spikey-haired tools talk about jager bombs, where they are getting their next platinum chain, and their trip to the Jersey Shore.

I agree the prices are ridiculous...but here's the reason why. Most likely, the vendors are managed by some large food service company. That means they take anywhere from 30-40% of their gross sales. Add on the 8.25% tax plus the cost of the beer being sold, plus paying workers...you end up with about 10-20% profit. Thus, they jack up the price to try to make up for the "cost" of even being there. It sucks and that's why I stopped doing it. Cut out the big man so us little men can make a little cash and you'll see a significant drop in prices.

As for the movies...there is no explanation. But the popcorn is so good...

To whoever wrote about paying $5.50 for a 12 oz... here's my thought. I would at a concert, knowing that price gouging is insane, but I actually wouldn't buy a second. There are many bars in Charlotte that are way too high (Rock Bottom, for example) for one beer, and at those places I get one beer and then beg my friends to move on to a bar with better prices. Or just switch to water.

I literally walked around Verizon the other night trying to find someone who would just sell me a 12 oz beer. Impossible. And you can't blame the guys for still wanting to get tips... just feel sorry for them, since they don't control the prices and are surely getting gipped.

Verizon does allow you to bring one water bottle in. I'm sure it has to be sealed, but... vodka water, anyone?

It's not just the prices that stink, the beer choices are awful! bud, bud light, miller, etc. please! Something with some taste would be worth $11!! I plan to attend one concert to check out the new venue but likely won't be back. I love the smaller venues in town and they do have the best bands and you can SEE them!

Just curious... does anybody think that the high prices are designed to keep the crowd from getting too rowdy? As in, the majority of the crowd isn't going to waste $70+ on getting drunk, ergo they'll be easier to manage at the venue... I hate paying the high prices, too, but I'm a little unnerved at the thought of the 18,000 person crowd at Verizon getting loaded.

Sarah Aarthun is the Observer's pop culture writer. When she's not devouring Entertainment Weekly or writing about local and national celebrities for The 'A' List in the Observer, she can be found at hot spots around town.